Snow removing apparatus



Oct. 18, sc n-z SNOW REMOVING APPARATUS Filed April 7, 1953 INVENTOR Farr 6c 17 2 Q z flfi United States Patent Office 2,720,715 ?atented Oct. 18, 1955 SNOW REMOVING APPARATUS Harry Schmitz, Brooklyn, N. Y. Application April 7, 1953, Serial No. 347,256

1 Claim. (Cl. 3712) This invention relates to improvements in snow removing apparatus of the general type and kind disclosed in my prior United States Letters Patent No. 2,616,413, dated November 4, 1952, and which is especially adapted to be propelled over sidewalks, paths and driveways, whereby to take up snow from the surfaces thereof, and then to dispose of the collected snow by melting the same to water for subsequent discharge from the apparatus.

This invention has for an object to provide improved apparatus for collecting and disposing of snow in the operation of clearing walk, path and driveway surfaces, and to this end to provide apparatus adapted to be propelled over the surface to be cleared, said apparatus including a heated melting chamber having an endless series of snow receiving pans adapted to be circulated within said chamber in such manner that each pan, in the course of its travel, is caused to submerge and pass through a trough of heated water, whereby to induce rapid initial melting of its snow content; said dip trough having a large area of surface to which heat is constantly applied, whereby to maintain the temperature of its water content high; the dip trough and means for heating the same being located in a substantially central position within the melting chamber, being thus adapted to radiate heat through the interior of the chamber, so as to maintain an atmosphere of such relatively high temperature therein that complete melting of the snow content of the receiving pans is assured before the circuits of individual pans are completed; the melting chamber being provided with a catch basin to receive the water of melted snow, the received water being subject to discharge from the catch basin at will.

The invention has for another object to provide means to so dispose the empty snow receiving pans, as they approach the point of snow take-up, that said pans will engage the entering snow to be received with a scooping action.

The above stated and other objects will be understood from a reading of the following detailed description of the invention in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which is shown a longitudinal sectional view of the snow removing apparatus according to the invention.

The snow removing apparatus according to this invention is adapted to be made of relatively small size suitable for hand propulsion, and thus well adapted for use in removing snow from sidewalks and similar footways, and from garage driveways. It will be understood, however, that the principles of the invention may be embodied in large size power propelled apparatus suitable for road and street snow removal service.

Referring to the drawing, the reference character 11 indicates the body of the apparatus which is formed by a top wall 11, bottom wall 12, end walls 13 and side walls 14, thus providing the body with an enclosed interior constituting a melting chamber 15. Internal linings 16 of suitable heat insulating material may be incorporated with selected walls of the body 10, whereby to prevent wasteful radiation of heat from the body interior when the apparatus is in use. The body 1% is supported by traction wheels 17, and, when hand propelled, is provided, in extension from its rear end wall 13 with handle bar means 18 for propulsion control thereof.

Contained within the interior of the melting chamber 15 of the body 10 is an endless series of traveling snow receiving pans which, in the operation of the apparatus, take up snow delivered thereto from the surface over which the apparatus is propelled. Said series of snow pans is supported by endless conveyer means, whereby the snow pans are caused to be circulated through the melting chamber 15 from and back to a point at which the same are loaded with collected snow.

In one arrangement, the conveyer means comprises laterally opposed, corresponding series or sets of supporting pulleys, guide wheels or the lite which are mounted Within the melting chamber 15 respectively in connection with and adjacent to the respective side walls of said chamber. Each series or set of supporting pulleys, guide wheels or the like comprises a bottom forward end pulley 19, an upper course forward end pulley 20, an upper course rearward end pulley 21, longitudinally spaced intermediate upper course pulleys 22 and 23, a lower course rearward end pulley 24 and a lower course forward end pulley 25; said lower course pulleys 24 and 25 being disposed at a level upwardly offset relative to the level of the bottom forward end pulley 19, with said forward end pulley 25 also disposed in inwardly ofiset relation to the latter. Cooperative with the upper course pulleys is a dip guide pulley 26 which is positioned between and at a level downwardly of'set relative to the level of said intermediate upper course pulleys 22 and 23.

Over each series or set of supporting pulleys, guide wheels or the like runs an endless conveyer belt 27. Spaced along the conveyer belts, in bridging extension therebetween, and thus across the interior of the melting chamber 15, are a multiplicity of upwardly open snow pans 28, the end walls 29 of which are respectively pivotally connected with the respective conveyer belts 27, so as to be swingably suspended therefrom and therebetween. Each snow pan 28 is provided in its respective end walls with relatively large water discharge openings 30, and in the bottom thereof with drain openings 31.

Provided within the bottom interior of the heating chamber 15, to extend beneath the lower forwardly or outwardly moving course of the conveyer carried snow pans 28, is a catch basin 32 to receive water produced by melting snow carried by said snow pans.

Formed in the lower end portion of the front end wall of the body 10 in a snow admission opening 33. Underlying the bottom forward end pulleys 19 of the snow pan conveyer means, in substantially concentrically spaced relation thereto, is a curved bottom wall or floor section 34 which leads to the bottom edge of said snow admission opening 33. The spacing of this curved bottom wall or floor section 34 relative to the course of travel of the snow pans as carried around said bottom forward end pulleys 19 of the conveyer is such that each snow pan, as it approaches the snow admission opening 33, will be caused to contact and drag upon the surface of said bottom wall or floor section, whereby to be swung back, about its pivotal connection with the conveyer means, into a snow scooping position; thus assuring that each snow pan will take up a full load of snow as it passes said snow admission opening 33.

Connected with the bottom margin of the snow admission opening 33, to project exteriorly from the front of the body 10 of the apparatus, is a shovel member 35. In its operative position, this shovel member inclines downwardly and forwardly from the snow admission opening so that its outer free end can move over a surface said surface when the apparatus is not in use.

7 increase the area of its heat conductive surface.

from which snow is to be collected. Preferably, the shovel member 35 is pivotally connected to the body 10 by a hinge connection 36, so that it can be uplifted from Projecting from the upper margins of the snow admission opening 33 is an external hood 37 which overhangs the shovel member 35, and pivotally suspended across the outer opening of said hood is a yieldable curtain member 38,

which will yield to iii-passing movement ofsnow riding course of the snow pan conveyer means is a hot water containing dip trough; This dip trough comprises an up wardly open sheet-metal basin 39 of a length greater than the length of the snow pans, and having upwardly exaxis of the dip guide pulleys 26 of said snow pan conveyer means.- This clip trough is provided with a transversely. curved bottom wall 41 which is substantially concentrically spaced relative to the axis of said clip guide wall 41 is provided with a plu 'rality of laterally spaced, longitudinally extending hollow pulleys 26. Said bottom whereby to substantially Coextensive with and connected to said dip troughbasin 39, so as to underlie the same in dependent relation thereto,

ribs 42 dependent therefrom,

is a housing 43, the interior of which provides a heater chamber 44, within which heat generating means is housed. The heat generating means comprises a plurality {tendingend walls 40 by which the same is suspended, '.preferably on an axis in substantial alignment with the of electrical heating elements 45. These heating ele- V ments are preferably mounted in a supporting drawer' 46' -which is slidably supported within the bottom interior of the housing 43, whereby withdrawal of said drawer 'from the housing gives access to the heating elements for ,repairs and replacements when necessary. The rear end wall 13 of the body 10 of the apparatus is provided with a door member 47, which, when opened, gives access to the interior of the melting chamber 15, and thus to the drawer 46 containing the heating elements 45. With respect to a manually propelled apparatus, the electrical .heating elements are adapted to be supplied with energizing current through a cable (not shown) which leads therefrom exteriorly of the body 10 of the apparatus for connection with any current source outlet adjacent to the location where the apparatus is to be used. If the apparatus is of size suitable for street and highway use, it

can be equipped with self-contained electrical current generator means.

Means (not shown) will be provided for driving the conveyer carried snow pans. This means may be of the manually operated type as shown in my aforesaid prior United States Letters Patent No. 2,616,413; or said con- :veyer carried snow pans may be power driven by any suitable prime mover.

tion, the apparatus is propelled over the surface from which snow is to be removed and disposed of. As the apparatus is moved forward through the snow, snow in advance of the apparatus will be pushed up to move over the shovel member to enter the interior of the melting chamber; 15 through the admission opening 33, and into the path of movement of the snow pans 28, as thelatter successively move toward and then upwardly past said receiving opening 33. As each snow'pan approaches the 'snowadmission opening 33, it is carried by a descending "course of the conveyer means into'engagement with the curved bottom wall or floor section 34, whereby, as moved 'thereover, to be swung back, about its pivotal connection' with the 'conveyer means, so as to present itsopen top, toward the: admitted snow, whereby its leading lower 4 edge will scoop into said snow, thus assuring the filling of the pan interior therewith. As each snow pan thus picks up its content of snow, the same will be carried upwardly by the rising course of the conveyer means, and thence to the rearwardly moving upper course of the latter. As each snow pan approaches the dip trough 39, it will be carried downward, by the descending section of the upper course of the conveyer means, which passes over the dip guide pulleys 26, into the dip trough 39 so as a to submerge in the hot watercontent of the latter, and

thence, by the ascending section of said upper course of the conveyer means, out of saiddip trough 39. In passing through the hot water content of said dip trough, the

snow content of the dipped snow pan is subjected to very rapid melting efiect, and the resulting water will, as the pan rises out of the dip trough, flow out through the discharge openings 30 in the pan end walls, so as to fall through the melting chamber into the catch basin 32.

Any melted snow water which escapes from the dipped pan into the dip trough will raise the level of the water content of the latter, so as to overflow from said'dip trough and also fall through the melting chamber into said catch basin 32. After leaving the dip trough 39, the snow pans are carried on and then downwardly by the rearward descending course of the conveyer means, and

thereafter forwardly, by the lower course of said conveyer means, back toward the snow admission opening 33.

- During such travel, any remaining unmelted snow will-be subjected to the warm atmosphere of the melting chamber 15, and melting thereof will be completed, the. re-

sultant water thereupon draining from the snow pans-so as to fall into the catch basin 32. This cycle of operation is continuous, and as the snow pans again approach the snow admission opening 33, they will be empty and ready to collect and convey another load of snow to be melted.

Since the dip trough 39 audits associated heating means is located substantially centrally within the melting chamber 15, heat will radiate therefrom so as to' maintain the atmosphere within said'melting chamber at a relatively high temperature, and consequently the snow carried by the snow pans will be subjected to some melting effect throughout the course of circulation of the snow pans through said melting chamber 15.

From time to time, the water collecting in the'catch basin 32 can be discharged therefrom through a discharge valve or faucet 48 which leads outwardly therefrom.

Having now described my present invention, I claim:

Snow removal apparatus comprising a snow melter structure formed by a hollow body adapted to be propelled over a surface from which snow is to be removed, the interior of said body providing a melting chamber, said body having a snow admission opening at its lower forward end, a shovel member exteriorly projecting.

within the melting chamber, perforate snow pans spaced along and pivotally suspended from said conveyer so as to circulate within said melting chamber, the path of travel of said conveyer circulated snow pans comprisinga forward rising course disposed to move past the snow admission opening, a rearwardly moving upper course, a rearward descending course, and a forwardly moving lower course terminating in a descending course leading to the lowerend of said forward rising course, said body having a curved bottom floor section underlying the juncture of said last mentioned descending'course and the forward rising course, said curved floor section being eccentric to the path of movement of. snow pans moving from said last mentioned descending course to the forward rising course and toward the snow admission opening, whereby drag ofthe snow pans against the receiving ing position as they approachand engage snowentering V through the snow admission opening, a water filled dip trough suspended beneath the rearwardly moving upper course of the snow pan conveyer means, said upper course having a U-shaped section operative to carry loaded snow pans into and out of the dip trough, means for heating 5 the water content of said dip trough and to radiate heat within the melting chamber, and a snow water collecting basin in the bottom of the melting chamber beneath the forwardly moving lower course of snow pan conveyer, said basin having manipulatable means for discharging 10 collected snow water therefrom.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 950,413 Stedman Feb. 22, 1910 15 6 Friedman Oct. 9, Aygarn Oct. 26, Rickard Apr. 29, Ballard Oct. 12, Chrul Feb. 11, Hagen Jan. 12, Chapman July 25, Schmitz Nov. 4,

FOREIGN PATENTS Norway Feb. 4, 

